Joe Garagiola, Jr.

Part-time Professor of Practice

Joe Garagiola, Jr. is special advisor to the president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He previously served 13 seasons at Major League Baseball. In his capacity as a consultant, Joe was involved in a variety of matters including on-field discipline, uniforms, ground rules, and official scoring appeals. Previously, Joe was the Senior Vice President of Standards and On-Field Operations for MLB. Prior to joining the Commissioner's Office in 2005, Joe had been the General Manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks from their inception.

Garagiola joined the Diamondbacks in March 1995, when the franchise was awarded to the region, but it was his work on a variety of civic panels that served as a driving force in bringing major league baseball to the Valley. He was the chairman of the Phoenix Metropolitan Sports Foundation, served as vice—chairman of the Governor's Cactus League Task Force (which was instrumental in saving the Cactus League) and was a member of the Mayor's Professional Baseball Committee as well as the Maricopa County Sports Authority, serving as its chairman. Garagiola was also chairman of the Arizona Baseball Commission, the group best known for completing the task of convincing existing Major League clubs that Phoenix and the region were ready to possess their own club.

Upon graduation from law school, Joe joined the New York Yankees as Assistant to the President and ln—House Counsel. Following his stint with the Yankees (where he collected his first World Series ring), Joe started his own law firm and was the editor and publisher of the Sports Law Reporter, the first publication devoted exclusively to sports and the law. Joe has taught Sports Law on both the undergraduate (St. John's University) and law school (Pace University) levels, and has been a guest lecturer at Georgetown Law, his alma mater.

Garagiola made his move to the Valley in 1982, practicing with the firm of Gallagher and Kennedy, concentrating on sports law. Joe was a partner at G&K, and was an integral part of the team that handled the franchise application process and well as the negotiations with Maricopa County involving Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field).

Education

J.D. Georgetown University Law School
B.A. University of Notre Dame